Is redemption possible on 'Game of Thrones'?

Published Friday May 2, 2014 at 6:00 am

'ONE OF the things I wanted to explore (with my characters) is the whole issue of redemption. When can we be redeemed? Is redemption even possible? I don't have an answer. But when do we forgive people? ... How many good acts make up for a bad act? ... I want there to be a possibility of redemption for all of us, because we all do terrible things. We should be able to be forgiven."

That is George R.R. Martin, better known as the man whose books are the basis for HBO's massive hit "Game of Thrones." Martin spoke to Mikal Gilmore of Rolling Stone.

The basis of the 10-hour (yes, 10 hours!) interview was, naturally, his books, his characters and how they are being translated for TV consumption. But the author is, as Gilmore put it, "loquacious" — to the nth degree. Martin covers so many subjects — his life, politics, history, ancient and modern, Woodrow Wilson, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The interview takes on an almost breathless quality. How does a man answer a 14-word question with 2,000 words?! Amazing. Does he ever take a breath?

This Rolling Stone is kind of the "Game of Thrones" issue. On the cover is Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow in "GOT." What I mostly gleaned from Harington's interview here, and also in the latest issue of GQ, is that the actor's hair has become so famous it has its own fan clubs. The actor himself doesn't seem to want to go on about it too much, but those who interview him can't seem to get their minds off the tangled locks that he must maintain for his role. (In both RS and GQ, Kit seemed compelled to pull his hair back away from his face to show how different he looks without his raven halo. This implies he's anxious to look different, in other roles.)

Well, not having read Mr. Martin's books, I don't know Jon Snow's fate, but given the general bloodletting in the fantasy land of Westeros, Harington could be without hair — or a head! — at any point.

As if a Netflix series with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda wasn't good enough news, now comes word that Tate Taylor will direct the series. Don't know the name? Well, he's the guy who helmed a little movie titled "The Help" — big box office, Oscar nominations and wins.

The Tomlin/Fonda series is called "Grace and Frankie." It's a 13-episode deal and debuts next year.